The Government of Ontario has announced an investment of over 5 million dollars (5,4 million) in the
Career-Ready with CTMA: Expanding Opportunities program, to tackle the province's labour shortage and connect Ontario workers with high-paying jobs in their communities.
On their website,
CTMA explained that this funding will enable the association "to create 300 more experiential work placements and provide new machinery and tools to an additional 30 high schools throughout the province. By the end of March 2025, the Career-Ready with CTMA program will have provided new machinery and tools to more than 130 high schools, ranging from CNC milling centres, lathes, and plasma cutters, to CNC desktop milling machines, high precision conventional milling machines, lathes with readouts, and more."
This means that more than 15.000 students will be exposed to and benefitting from the new machinery and more that 3.500 of them have begun industry-related co-ops or apprenticeships. And these numbers will continue to increase.
"Through the Career-Ready with CTMA: Expanding Opportunities program, we have been able to offer experiential work placements for job seekers and facilitate the delivery of new machinery to high schools across Ontario. These efforts are pivotal in fostering the growth and sustainability of our industry while enhancing educational opportunities for students.", said Robert Cattle, CTMA's executive director.
